Damage Control
by ThePillowOfDoom
Summary: AU, sequel to Confliction. After learning some disturbing truths from Slughorn, Albus Dumbledore attempts to find help to put an end to the war. Will introduce many changes to canon. -DISCONTINUED- (but not abandoned, more to follow)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or included in this story. Everything other than the new plot belongs to J.K. Rowling. I'm not making any money off this, I'm just having a little fun.

A/N: So I realize that I've been seemingly dead for a very long time. So if anyone's been reading what I have so far and wondered what happened, well I let other stuff take over, but I'm here now, so let's get started on Damage Control, which will be a story that explains how the changes I'll be introducing to canon happen before I get to the big Harry-Potter-Goes-To-Hogwarts-And-Does-Stuff story.

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><p><strong>Damage Control<strong>

_Part One: The War Room_

The location of the headquarters of the British Ministry of Magic is not a secret. By the time they have finished their education, most of Britain's witches and wizards are aware that the Ministry headquarters is located under the road Whitehall in London. And as far as almost anyone knows, there are ten underground levels. The Minister for Magic and other high-ranking officials have offices on the topmost level, while Level Ten is home to the official court chambers used by the Wizengamot and the Council of Magical Law in criminal cases. And underneath the courtrooms is the holding area for prisoners awaiting transport to Azkaban, the most secure magical prison in the world.

If any adult witch or wizard in Magical Britain wanted this information, they could look in public records and find it. But that's where the reach of public knowledge stops. Any further information about the deepest depths of the Ministry is disclosed on a need-to-know basis.

And as one of, is not the most powerful wizard in the world, Albus Dumbledore needed to know. Because at the end of the most desolate hallway in the holding area was a staircase. This staircase was exceptionally long, the descent having taken Dumbledore seventeen minutes while at a brisk pace. At the bottom of the staircase was an empty corridor that led to a blank wall. Having been informed of this when arranging the meeting, the Hogwarts Headmaster reached into his robe and retrieved a folded piece of paper, which he then unfolded and read.

"_The War Room is at the end of the empty hallway under the Ministry of Magic Holding Cells."_

As the note disintegrated in his hand, the wall in front of him seemed to slide away in several directions, revealing a wooden door with no handle. As per his instructions, Dumbledore knocked three times. After several seconds of silence, the door shot open and slammed into the wall of the chamber behind it.

Dumbledore entered to find a room with a stone floor, stone ceiling, and stone walls. There was a round wooden table, and seven wooden chairs set up around it, all looking equally uncomfortable. In the chair farthest from him sat a stocky man wearing a brown overcoat that concealed the rest of his clothing, with grey hair and one eye, with the other socket being occupied by a magical replacement eye.. Dumbledore had never asked the man where he'd gotten it, and the auror didn't seem inclined to share it. Dumbledore walked over to the man and smiled politely.

"Good morning, Alastor," he said.

The man in question, Head Auror Alastor Moody, had been glaring at Dumbledore since the Hogwarts Headmaster had entered. Reaching into his pocket, Moody pulled out a flask and took several large gulps, then placed it on the table. For several moments, neither man moved, then finally Moody spoke.

"You're late, Albus," he growled.

Raising an eyebrow, Dumbledore reached into his robe and pulled out a pocket watch, glanced at it, then put it back.

"Alastor, I'm well over half an hour early. How long have you been waiting here?"

"Since last night. Constant vigilance Albus. I had to make preparations. Now then, please do me a favor and explain what it is you needed to say."

Dumbledore sighed, then began speaking. "Yesterday morning, Horace Slughorn came to my office, in a state of panic. He claimed that he had something of vital importance that I needed to know."

Moody had not taken his eyes off of Dumbledore. "Did he?"

"It was most alarming. First of all, as Sirius told us several months ago, Regulus Black was in fact a Death Eater."

"Unlike you, Albus," said Moody, "I never doubted that. That whole family's rotten. Miracle that Sirius isn't just like the rest of them. If I –"

"Apparently, neither was Regulus," Dumbledore interrupted. "He's dead, Alastor. He died stealing from Voldemort."

"That only proves my point. Those people can't even rely on each other," Moody said. "How does Slughorn even know about this? I assume he's not generally privy to Voldemort's secrets."

"Young Mr. Black's house elf, called Kreacher, came to Horace yesterday. I also spoke to him afterwards. Regulus brought the elf with him during his, errand, so to speak, and when it became clear to him that he wouldn't make it out, he ordered Kreacher to find Horace."

Moody took another gulp from his flask as Dumbledore continued.

"However, Kreacher himself told me very little. Apparently he'd been ordered not to tell anybody except Horace. But he was more than willing to recount his prior experience, when Voldemort used Kreacher to test the security on the object."

Dumbledore paused to take a breath, and Moody interrupted him before he was able to continue.

"Just what is this item?" he asked. "What could possibly be important enough for the security Voldemort placed to kill Black? For that matter, what was the security? Black wasn't without talent."

"I was just getting to that, Alastor. Voldemort placed it in a cave near the coast-"

"Near the coast where, Albus?" Moody cut in.

"Kreacher wasn't aware, and if he was he didn't tell Horace. As I was saying, inside the cave was a tunnel that could only be opened with a blood sacrifice, and at the end was a lake, with Inferi hidden under the surface. The locket was apparently on an island in the center, but Kreacher was unwilling to tell Horace how it was safeguarded there."

Moody sighed, and took another drink. "And what was it? What was so valuable that the bastard used Inferi, of all things, to protect it?"

Wordlessly, Dumbledore reached into his robe and pulled out a small box, then placed it on the table. Moody opened it carefully, lifted the box, and flipped it over, allowing the object inside to fall on the table. It was a golden locket, inlaid with green stones which seemed to form a serpentine S.

Dumbledore spoke softly. "It's a horcrux, Alastor."

Moody's eyes, both the real one and the magical one shot up at Dumbledore.

"You can't be serious."

Suddenly there were three knocks at the door, which then shot open as it had earlier. And while Dumbledore certainly was serious, the man at the door was much more so.

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><p>AN: So that's Chapter One. I have no idea when the next one will be up, but I have off from school all next week, so hopefully I'll get something done by then. Again, sorry for vanishing, thanks for reading, and please review!

_~ThePillowOfDoom_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or included in this story. Everything other than the new plot belongs to J.K. Rowling. I'm not making any money off this, I'm just having a little fun.

A/N: Alright, so this is my second chapter. Continues right off from the first one.

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><p><strong>Damage Control<strong>

_Part Two: The Unit_

...while Dumbledore certainly was serious, the man at the door was much more so.

However, it was not in a literal sense. The man who had interrupted the old friends' conversation did not have a demeanor that could be described as _serious_. For Sirius Black was a rather carefree, lighthearted person.

As it so happened, Sirius had a rather pleased grin on his face, as if he were in on some sort of joke that nobody else was aware of, which in conjunction with his shoulder-length black hair and facial stubble that implied he hadn't shaved in several days, Sirius gave off the impression of not being overly concerned about much. He wore black jeans, a dark red shirt, and a leather jacket, Muggle clothing which seemed to fit well with his Blood-Purists-Should-Just-Bugger-Off attitude.

As Sirius walked in, the door closed itself behind him. In a rather cheerful tone, he greeted the two men.

"Mad-Eye, Dumbles, just _smashing_ to see you at seven in the bloody morning," he said. Dumbledore could have sworn he heard sarcasm in the young man's tone. "Remus should be here soon enough, the bloke at the reception gate – git that he is – wanted to run a background on him check because of his furry problem. What's in the box?"

Instantly, Moody grabbed the small package containing the horcrux and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Don't concern yourself with it just yet," Moody said, taking a drink from his flask.

"Sit. Albus and I'll tell you what we've been talking about when everyone's here."

Sirius complied, and asked, "how many more are there?"

Moody closed his good eye and leaned back slightly. "Counting Remus? Four."

At that moment, there were three more knocks at the door, which opened again, and in walked two people.

The first was a brown-haired woman with plain black robes and a rather serious expression on her face. Behind her was a young man with light brown hair and brown eyes, with several scratches on his face, a result of his aforementioned "furry problem." He looked rather tired, and not nearly as cheerful as Sirius had, although his eyes held a hint of amusement. He had on plain brown trousers and a dark blue sweater with a white collared shirt underneath.

The woman spoke. "Good morning Auror Moody, Headmaster, Sirius."

Moody grunted. "Auror Bones."

Dumbledore said nothing, although he did incline his head.

Sirius was more enthusiastic, jumping out of his seat and grabbing the woman in a hug, something that clearly annoyed her.

"Amy! So good to see you!" Sirius then let her go, but still stood facing her. He gave a large grin. "You even brought Moony! Oh, happy day!"

Clearly having had enough, Amelia glared at him. As she was about to speak, Moody interrupted.

"Not now, Bones, you can curse him after we're through. And Black, sit down before you lose your manhood. I don't want to have to put my Auror on probation because she castrated a civilian."

Sighing, Sirius sat back down. Amelia, clearly wanting nothing to do with him, sat as far from him as possible, that being to Moody's left. Remus, who'd been silently been observing the whole time, sat down next to Sirius.

"So how long are we going to wait here?" asked Sirius. "I haven't had breakfast, and I could really go for some sausages right now."

Moody glared at him. "We'll wait as long as we have to. There's a lot we need to cover, and I'm not saying it more that once."

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><p>Moody's patience was wearing thin. Emmeline Vance, the sixth member of the team had arrived not long after Lupin and Bones. The blond woman had sat beside Sirius, and they'd all waited.<p>

And waited.

Finally, after half an hour of waiting, there were three knocks at the door. And as always, it shot open and slammed into the wall.

"Terribly sorry to be so late, Alastor, but I thought I'd found a Crumple-Horned Snorkack

in my garden, and I got caught up in the search."

Xenophilius Lovegood had arrived.

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><p>After Lovegood had exchanged greetings with everyone, and gone off on a tangent about many fascinating creatures, he sat down as well, taking the seventh and final chair.<p>

Moody took another drink from his flask before addressing everyone.

"Now then, it's about time we got down to business. Albus has some things he needs to tell you all, then I'll be giving you all assignments. Albus?"

Dumbledore began to stand up, but Moody motioned for him to sit. Shrugging slightly, Dumbledore spoke. "Thank you, Alastor.

"Now, I have several important things to share with you. Are any of you familiar with a horcrux?"

The only person to respond was Amelia. "You can't be serious."

"Of course not, I am," Sirius cut in, receiving glares from both her and Moody.

"Unfortunately, I am," continued Dumbledore. "For those of you who don't know, a horcrux is a very disturbing piece of dark magic."

"Does it have anything to do with the Umgubular Slashkilter?" asked Xenophilius.

"That's it," growled Moody, "The next person to interrupt gets petrified until the meeting's over. Albus, continue."

"Thank you, Alastor. As I was about to say, a horcrux is an item in which a person hides a piece of his or her soul. This is done by splitting one's soul after performing a special ritual on the object in question. This has two major effects on the wizard or witch who creates it.

"First, this person will be unable to die. As long as the horcrux is intact, the soul will remain tethered to our world, unable to pass on. The soul will then attempt to obtain a new body.

"The other effect is the primary drawback to creating horcruxes: splitting the soul causes irreparable damage to the person, slowly chipping away at their sanity. Alastor, if you would?"

Moody reached into his pocket and pulled out the box he'd hidden earlier, and dumped the golden locket on the table.

"Thank you. This, my friends, is a horcrux created by Lord Voldemort. As far as I can tell, it once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. It was lost for many centuries, presumably passed down by his descendants."

"Are you certain that it wasn't being hidden by Aquavirius Maggots?" asked Xenophilius.

"Well," responded Dumbledore, "I suppose we can't rule anything out, although I would wonder how Voldemort managed to obtain it from such creatures."

Remus cut in. "If you don't mind my asking, Headmaster, where did you get it?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Yesterday morning, Horace Slughorn came to see me in my office. He had a house elf with him. I've since placed them both in a safe house, although I doubt the elf with remain there if called by his family.

"What Horace told me was rather disturbing. It seems that once, many years ago, a young Voldemort came to him with some questions about horcruxes. Horace, believing it to be nothing more than hypothetical questions from a curious student, answered them.

"Horace told me that Voldemort asked him if it would be possible to split the soul into seven pieces."

"Are you saying," asked Emmeline, "that he really made seven of these?"

"No, Miss Vance, what Voldemort had in mind was to create six, with the seventh piece, the main one, if you will, remaining in his own body."

"Wait a minute," Sirius interrupted, "what about the elf? What's it have to do with this?"

"The elf's master had learned about the horcrux and where it was hidden, although I am unclear as to how, and stolen it." Dumbledore looked at Sirius with a pained look in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Sirius. Your brother Regulus is dead."

Sirius' eyes widened in disbelief. Slowly, he leaned back in the chair, his previous mirth completely gone.

"My brother?... Reg is dead?.. He betrayed Voldemort?" Sirius took a deep breath. "That makes no sense... No, it makes perfect sense. It was probably too much for him. Made him sick, the shit they had to do... Moony?"

"Yes, Padfoot?" Remus asked gently.

"My brother's dead."

Remus said nothing, simply patting Sirius on the shoulder several times.

"As touching as this is," said Moody, "we're on a schedule. We have to assume that Voldemort managed to make the six horcruxes. He hid the locket in some cave. Albus said a blood sacrifice was required and that it was guarded by Inferi. That means that he's hidden them in places that are well protected, either through outside sources or by his own magic.

"Now here's the plan. We'll split up into two teams. Albus, Amelia, and Xenophilius will find and search any place that might be significant to Voldemort, because there's no way he's just finding random places.

"Remus, Sirius, Emmeline, and myself will be hunting several Death Eaters: the Carrows, the Lestrange brothers, Lucius Malfoy, and Bellatrix Black. As far as I know, these six are the closest to Voldemort, and they're the most likely to know something. Although I doubt they know about the actual horcruxes, they'll know about Voldemort's hideouts and possible safehouses.

"Remember, we don't have much time. In just one month, Albus has to return to Hogwarts and make sure the children are safe.

"Albus, you take charge of your team however you see fit. The rest of you, we'll meet somewhere else in three days.

"Wait for my owl."

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><p>AN: Well, that's that, I'm going back to school tomorrow so I dunno how soon I'll be able to write the next one, but I have no intention of taking as long as I did before. Thanks to Cassia4u for being my first reviewer!

Please tell me what you think so I can get better and make this story as good as it can be!

_~ThePillowOfDoom_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters included in this story. Everything other than the new plot belongs to J.K. Rowling. I'm not making any money off this, I'm just having a little fun.

A/N: Yes, I realize I was gone for a pretty long time. Sorry, real life got in the way.

Anyway, it's finally time to get some action going.

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><p><strong>Damage Control<strong>

_Part Three: The Siege_

Well over a year had passed since the initial meeting of the unit. Frustratingly little progress had been made since their gathering in the War Room. Not that Moody had been expecting Voldemort to fall immediately, that would have been far too convenient, and therefore heavily suspicious.

Things had started out in promising fashion. Not two weeks after he'd assigned his and Dumbledore's individual squads, Amelia Bones and Xenophilius Lovegood had found the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw hidden in Hogwarts, and they'd determined it to be a horcrux. Since that time, however, the war had been fought at a stalemate, with neither side gaining any significant victories over the other.

Less than six months prior, he'd gone to the Gaunt House, the ancestral home of Voldemort, and along with Lupin and Vance, had retrieved a ring which also contained a horcrux. It had been enchanted to place a curse on anybody who attempted to touch it, but Moody was too vigilant to try doing so. The Ring, along with the Diadem and the Locket, had been stored in Gringotts, under a nameless vault, the existence of which was only known to the Bank Manager, Ragnok, who also served as the account manager.

Not long before he'd obtained the Ring, Moody had learned from Dumbledore about a prophecy he'd heard from an applicant for Divination teacher at Hogwarts. After hearing its contents, he'd determined that the potential candidates were Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter, which Dumbledore confirmed. Amelia Bones and Sirius Black had been told to stay with and protect the respective families under the guise of extra security, which both families had accepted without complaint.

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><p>It was the first time the entire unit was to participate in a mission. Snow had been falling in Wiltshire for several days, which in addition to the darkness of night would provide a decent amount of cover, allowing them to take advantage of the element of surprise. The plan of striking at the Death Eaters closest to Voldemort had been delayed on multiple occasions, but Moody had received word of a Christmas party at Malfoy Manor, and it seemed to him that it would be the perfect opportunity to mount an offensive.<p>

The unit had been divided into three squads. The first, which was comprised of Dumbledore and Vance, would create a diversion. Then, the second, including himself, Lovegood, and Lupin, would enter at the front and begin the assault. Moments later, the first team would enter from the back, at the same time as the third and final squad, Bones and Black, temporarily withdrawn from their protection assignment, would break in through the basement. At Dumbledore's insistence, they would all aim to capture rather than kill.

The explosion came without warning. The roof of the manor had blown up without warning. Clearly, that was Dumbledore's idea of a nonlethal distraction. It also meant that the wards had fallen, at least temporarily. Without pause, Moody and his companions Apparated to the front door, unlocked it with a silent _alohomora, _and rushed inside.

What followed was a flurry of action. Upon spotting the intruders, most of the guests Disapparated. Dodging a _reducto, _Moody began engaging the attacker, Lucius Malfoy, in battle, sending back a _confringo_. Glancing momentarily at the others, he saw the Lupin and Lovegood were fighting Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Bellatrix Lestrange in a two-on-three duel.

All of a sudden, reinforcements arrived in the form of the Carrows, Karkaroff, Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott. However, before any of the newly arrived Death Eaters could act, another explosion rocked the manor, this time from the far end of the dining room (in which they were currently fighting), followed by a third from below. The rest of the unit joined the fight, with Black aiding Lupin and Lovegood. As Crabbe and Goyle moved to attack Bones and Vance, Moody found himself facing two opponents at once, as Nott went to assist Malfoy.

The worst off would seem to be Dumbledore, as Karkaroff and both Carrows attacked him immediately, launching off an _avada kedavra _and two simultaneous _crucios_, respectively, yet Dumbledore appeared unfazed, blocking all three curses with a rather large piano he'd silently summoned from a corner.

Moody, having prepared for a possible two-on-one situation, pulled out a second wand and sent Cutters at both of his opponents at the same time. Appearing synchronized in their movements, Nott and Malfoy both cast shield charms, which despite shattering under the force of Moody's spells, served their purpose, leaving both men unharmed. He followed up with a second wave of Cutters, then a third, and while Nott successfully managed to conjure a shield that absorbed both of them, Malfoy's had shattered once again, leaving him to dodge the third Cutter.

What Malfoy hadn't accounted for, however, was the jet of purple flame Karkaroff had sent toward Dumbledore, who had deflected it, and was now heading straight for him. With a sharp "Ugh!," Malfoy fell to the ground, apparently unconscious. With a quick nod towards Dumbledore, Moody began to send a series of Stunners and Blasting Curses at Nott, which the man was able to dodge, but he hadn't accounted for Moody's now-unoccupied second wand, with which he managed to cast a successful Leg-Locker, followed by a _petrificus totalus, _leaving Nott in no condition to carry on.

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><p>Soon enough, the unit had the numbers advantage over the Death Eaters, which prompted Karkaroff and the Carrows, who were the only ones left standing, to abandon the fight against Dumbledore, and Disapparate, taking most of the others with them.<p>

"Spread out," ordered Moody. "Take out any stragglers. And search the whole place, tear it apart if you have to. If we're lucky, there's a horcrux in here."

As the others went to do so, Moody noticed that Dumbledore and Black were standing off to the side, talking about something.

"Hey Mad-Eye! Come look at this!" called Black.

Taking a swig from his flask, Moody walked over to where the two were standing, then he realized what they must have been talking about.

"What should we do with her?" asked Black.

They were standing over the unconscious form of Bellatrix Lestrange.

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><p>AN: As always, I'd love to know what you all think, whether you love it or hate it or are indifferent.

And for the record, this story isn't very likely to go above ten or so chapters, since it's a pretty limited timeframe, and as you've just seen I'm liable to include time skips. This story will end in the aftermath of Halloween, 1981, and then I'll continue to the next part.

But that's still a while away. Please review!


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